Projects
Color in the Court: Racial and Ethnic Disparities Initiative (REDI) Program Assessment, Training and Technical Assistance
Housed in the School of Public Affairs (SPA) at American University (AU), the Racial and Ethnic Disparities Initiative (REDI) is a multi-year project funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. The project’s mission is to use research, policy development, and training and technical assistance (TTA) to work with justice system stakeholders to rectify racial and ethnic disparities in treatment courts. Below is a list of the project’s overarching goals based around creating content (e.g., fact sheets, webinars, and issues briefs), delivering mid-level TTA to treatment court teams, developing an online module curriculum, and evaluating project components. REDI’s goals include: (1) raising awareness about RED in treatment courts and assisting courts identify RED in their systems and processes, (2) rectifying RED within treatment courts and assisting with implementation of RED Program Assessment Tool recommendations, and (3) conducting a program evaluation of REDI. Project partners include Barbara Andraka-Christou (Associate Professor of Global Health Management and Informatics at the University of Central Florida), Danielle Atkins (Associate Professor of Public Administration at Florida State University), and John Gallagher (Associate Professor of Social Work at Morgan State University).
The REDI
Advisory Board
The REDI Advisory Board is a collective of subject matter experts in treatment court practice, policy, research, and/or lived experience. Member provide project guidance and assist executing various tasks.
- Aaron Arnold | All Rise
- Tamara Curry | Former Mental Health Court Judge
- Anne Dannerbeck Janku | Independent Scholar
- Evan Elkin | Reclaiming Futures
- Hallie Fader | The Council of State Governments
- John Horsley | Kenneth Young Center
- Tony Ingram | Supreme Court of Ohio
- Amanda Johnson | Treatment Court Graduate
- Carrie McCoy | Treatment Court Graduate
- Karen Otis | Center for Justice Innovation
- Roz Thomas | R Thomas Consulting LLC
- Darryl Turpin | HEAT
- Nancy Rodriguez | University of California at Irvine
- Jenny Zelt | RAISE Family Treatment Court
Assessing Racial and Ethnic Disparities within Drug Treatment Courts in Ohio
As treatment court professionals adhere to best practice standard Equity and Inclusion, it is vital that programs are examined for disparities. To support this effort, the Racial and Ethnic Disparities Program Assessment Tool (RED tool) was created to identify and rectify racial and ethnic disparities that may exist in programming. The goals of this project are to: 1) provide training and technical assistance on the RED tool to local treatment court professionals, 2) analyze and report data from RED tool submissions, and 3), create and deliver racial and ethnic diversity training based on regional and statewide needs identified from our analyses. The RED team at American University is providing training and technical assistance to local treatment court administrators in the State of Ohio on assessing racial and ethnic disparities within treatment courts. As part of this initiative, the RED team assists treatment court administrators in completing the online RED tool which assists treatment courts professionals in identifying and rectifying racial and ethnic disparities that may exist in programming. The RED team will also create and deliver racial and ethnic diversity training based on regional and statewide needs identified in the statewide aggregated report.
Racial and Ethnic Disparities Assessment within Drug Treatment Courts
School of Public Affairs (SPA) faculty and staff, in partnership with the Center for Justice Innovation (the Center) is providing training and technical assistance services to state and local drug court administrators on assessing racial and ethnic disparities within treatment courts. As part of this initiative, SPA and the Center assists drug court administrators in completing an online Racial and Ethnic Disparities Program Assessment Tool (RED tool), results from which will assist treatment court professionals identify and examine areas where racial and ethnic disparities may exist in their court programs. During the project period, SPA and the Center are working with treatment courts in multiple states on completing the RED tool, aggregating statewide data, conducting data analysis, and producing a statewide assessment report for select states.
Documenting and Addressing Disparities in New York State Adult Drug Treatment Courts
New York State Unified Court System (UCS) Office of Justice Initiatives – Division of Policy Planning (DPP), partnered with American University (AU) and the Center for Justice Innovation (CJI) to assess equity and inclusion in New York Unified Court System (NYS UCS) treatment courts. American University will administer the Racial and Ethnic Disparities in treatment Courts assessment (RED Tool) to all 96 adult treatment courts under the jurisdiction of the NYS USC. AU will provide access to all court teams to the RED tool, provide technical assistance and support in completing the assessment, and provide a statewide aggregate report back to the NYS USC detailing the areas of success and areas for
intervention by the state to address disparities. Approximately 30 NYS courts completed the RED assessment in 2020 & 2021, and their progress towards addressing disparities will form a crucial part of the statewide report.
Racial Equity Communities of Practice
American University (AU) is partnering with All Rise (formerly the National Association of Drug Court Professionals), in the creation and delivery of two Communities of Practice training programs. One program will serve six to eight Adult Treatment Court teams, and one six to eight Veterans Treatment Court teams. The Communities of Practices Cohorts will be focused on identifying, addressing, and ultimately reducing or eliminating racial disparities in access to, treatment in, and graduation from, treatment court programs.
These Communities of Practice cohorts will last approximately 18 months. The first part of the cohort will be an intensive 4-month training period where courts will learn from experts in the field, and each other, how to apply evidence-based practices to reduce disparities in their context. Teams will then receive coaching on developing an action plan to address specific policies or practices related to racial and ethnic disparities (RED) in their court and create at least three SMART goals to achieve over the subsequent year. Once the courts have finalized their plans with the coaches, they will present their plan to their cohort, receiving expert and peer feedback on their plan components and implementation strategies. The teams will then receive expert coaching and peer feedback during the implementation of their action plan. The cohort will conclude with each court their success and areas for continuous improvement.
